#i mostly just... start with some context?
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This is only half a thought so far, but maybe other people want to chime in.
I’m doing Watch Machina (currently at episode 15) and Nein Again (currently at episode 21) while I also keep up with current Critical Role content (Age of Umbra episode 4) and something that bothers me a little is Matt’s current method of narration.
In C1, Matt’s style is very informal with regard to the narration. There’s little added drama via his tone, pace, or choice of words. “Toothy maw” became a meme pretty quickly, but the point of every description was to efficiently set the scene so the players could start their RP and choose what to do. There wasn’t as much precision with his descriptions, and of course that is a talent that takes a long time to hone when you’re describing lots of different things over the course of several hours. However, the narration was far less formal and calculated than his NPC dialogue, so (in combination with voice acting) it was very easy to determine when Matt was in character or not. It wasn’t a bad thing; Matt’s very casual narration and formal dialogue leading up to the Chroma Conclave’s attack on Emon was excellent because it was so sudden, leading the players and the audience to experience the exact same shock the NPCs would have. It’s not a bad way to narrate. If anything, it made the heartfelt moments so poignant, especially at the end of the campaign. That description of snow drops would not have been nearly as impactful if Matt had narrated that way all the time.
In C2, Matt started getting more descriptive and slowed down his narration to match. As Aabria would put it, he “paints a word picture” and includes more environmental storytelling for the setting itself, not just things for the characters to expressly interact with. I think this is part of what led to the Nein interacting with the set dressing more: Matt mentioned it, so it must be important! This led to some fun hijinks as time went on, and it gave Wildemount a different feeling than Tal’dorei. I couldn’t tell you that Emon had a particular vibe to it other than it being a big city, but howdy do we know that Berleben is full of nosy, bored people in a smelly swamp, and we sure know that Zadash is a bustling city with stark class segregation while Nicodranas is a beautiful trade hub with a mixture of different cultures. I think part of that may have come from working on the source books (they have similar language for the plot hooks and location entries). However, that method of narration was mostly limited to first descriptions of a new place or events (“cutscenes” like the attack in Zadash). Within a scene, Matt was still fairly casual in his discussions with the players.
But currently in Age of Umbra, and with a good chunk of C3, Matt’s narration is far more deliberate. There is a consistently slower pace compared to earlier campaigns, usually only speeding up in combat. Part of that may be for production purposes (easier for transcriptions and closed captioning), but it also impacts the pacing of the game itself. There’s also that presence of a new character: the narrator himself has a voice, and that is now part of the story. It’s extremely noticeable when the cast gets Matt to “break character” as the narrator to only be a DM. It requires a baseline level of formality for that to happen, and Matt committed to it in nearly every scene, regardless of the context of the scene. While that doesn’t feel all that strange for Age of Umbra (it fits well with the soulsborne style of game), it does make me realize that it’s part of why C3 felt incongruous. Like, sorry about the dead horse, but I was expecting C3 to be pulpy, which very much benefits from the narration style of C1 rather than the formal narration style Matt prefers currently. Punchy, informal narration sets a player expectation of “you’re here to get something done and I’ll tell you if it works,” while the current style instead lends itself to “you’re part of my story and this is the tone.” The former is great for fast-paced roleplay and the latter is suited to unhurried storytelling—which wouldn’t feel as mismatched if C3 hadn’t been a story where the PCs needed to prevent a second calamity within the course of a few weeks.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that this was a mistake. Matt clearly enjoys how he narrates currently, and every DM is entitled to their preference. However, I think there’s a lesson in here that varying the narration style to match the purpose of the scene and story would benefit the players and the audience.
To be fair here, Matt is not the only DM who doesn’t mix it up very often. Brennan Lee Mulligan (Dimension 20) is far closer to the C1 style of fast, informal narration with very limited, specific instances where he would slow down for drama; there is no “narrator” character in his players’ story. D20 has a far more casual tone to its seasons than CR does in its campaigns. Luis Carazo (Tales Unrolled) narrates similarly to Matt, with a focus on instilling an emotional reaction for the players to deal with, and the players collaboratively join Luis as the narrator for their own characters; it’s a back and forth where the DM and players contribute to that additional presence. Tales Unrolled is on the opposite end of the spectrum from D20, with a clear feeling that it is a storytelling experience.
Again, choosing one narration style over another isn’t necessarily a flaw. However, I think varied narration is a tool that most DMs underutilize. If used carefully, adjusting narration styles within sessions on the fly could enhance the experience of an Actual Play campaign for everyone involved. It could be used as a signal to the players for what type of scene this will be or when a scene is shifting. It could also signal to performers in a show for pacing within an episode (hijinks are over, time for some drama; time to cool down from the tension).
But, as always, it’s easier to point stuff out like this than it is to do it in practice.
#critical role#matt mercer#also#am I the only one doing all three AND d20 AND tales unrolled?#I might have a problem#PS I just realized I wrote snow caps instead of snow drops too late don’t mind me I want little candies
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being JFK jr.'s assistant: a collection of headcanon's!
authors note: many apologies if this is illegible, i didn't have time to edit, also tried something new with the formatting of the moodboard. let me know your thoughts, feelings etc. for context this is set in NYC, early 1995, with assistant!reader working to aid in the start-up of john's political magazine 'george' ahead of its september release!
the interview process is most ardently held at harry cipriani's
john get's the chicken spezzatino al curry with spiced rice, and you get the cucumber salad with avocado, cherry tomatoes, and corn...
which was intentionally picked by you as it was the least expensive thing your eyes could scan on the menu as you weren't sure that your current waitress salary could sustain a cipriani-bill type of hit.
(little did you know, john had every intention of picking up the bill at the end of the interview)
you get the job with little fanfare, i get the feeling that john would try to keep it professional-ish initially (though I feel he would keep a pretty casual atmosphere with his employees)
i feel that john would throw the craziest work holiday party ever to existence!
and that's where i would posit you and John would hit it off and maybe engage in a few cheeky workplace clandestine touches/neck kisses/murmurs of praise that could be regarded by outsiders as a normal boss/employee dynamic
there's definitely some on-and-off period between you and john, mostly caused by you because of your (valid) reservations over the power-dynamic and not wanting to screw up a very high paying job in the city
however, i feel that through you learning john and his personality and temperament your worries about toxic dynamics that could fester fall to the wayside!
once the media gets a whiff of your relationship with john, it's lady di when she first started her courtship with king charles—levels of paparazzi and media attention from the gossip rags and daytime television shows
this is the energy of the pap shots: very much giving a chic defiance against ever giving the paparazzi the attention they so clearly court:

he would be very protective of you in the media, especially since you never intended to be thrust into such a harsh and unforgiving spotlight when you first applied for the administrative position at the magazine
he would absolutely bargain information about himself to press just to give you a break in the media (which is saying something as he seemed to genuinely loathe press intrusion)
despite not having time to actually prepare him a meal for him to eat at the office (since you have, y'know, an actual job to do) you order him a jambon-beurre from rigor hill market,
and attach a handwritten note (something soft, and tender, and embarrassing saccharine) using the leftover parchment concealing the lunch
i'm picturing assistant!reader's style to oscillate between 90s minimalism and couture avant-garde due to her career in print magazines. think masculine pieces (suits, loafers, polo's, ringer tees...) that give a feminine edge because of the painstaking couture level tailoring that reveal the reader's shape:
a daily uniform to the george magazine office would be: a poplin sky blue tuxedo shirt (unbuttoned to the second button to make it more dégagé) for the top, a menswear-inspired tailored prada jacket to throw atop, the matching prada trousers for the bottom.
for the accessories i feel that while the silhouette and basic clothing articles are minimalist, assistant!reader would get a bit playful and more outré!
assistant!reader would NOT fall for the birkin bait however she would be fan of hermēs because of their craftsmanship and dedication to "old-world" quality control. she shops semi-frequently (cause i know our john-john is giving her a mammoth salary for an assistant living in NYC)
she has an SA (sales assistant) who knows her family members birthdays, and always sends a courteous card in honour of the occasion
i distinctly feel that assistant!reader wouldn't go for a kelly (or the aforementioned birkin) but instead perhaps she would go for a hermēs 'bolide', 'plume', or a 'lindy' in more muted colors that are still kind of reminiscent of mid-century paint swatches
here's a few cursory examples of the type of colors assistant!reader would be seen traipsing around the city with: rouge de coeur, rose jaipur, vert anis, vintage bambou, ultra violet clemence, orange H clemence, bleu aztec clemence (just to name a few, lol!)
i definitely don't think she would add any keychains around the bag—the silhouette of the leather would undoubtably speak for itself
(and she certainly would not attach a labubu to ANY of her expensive leather goods... seriously what are you people doing? you are under spells people! spells!)
reader assistant definitely has an account like @/lizzybenz on tiktok (i am utterly entranced with her and her sense of style/restraint of taste. she does quick outfit videos and keeps the rest of her life pretty private and that's such a vibe all the time and definitely assistant!readers vibe)
i feel like you and john's relationship would be pretty esoteric and hush-hush towards the media and people you both didn't know intimately.
that is, unless the relationship starts to get truly serious: an engagement is present/impending, or you move in together...
if that ever were to occur (you two moving in together or getting engaged) i'd picture it to be years later from the genesis of your relationship in a era where you've moved on from being john's assistant and work in a higher position either at 'george' or another publishing house in the city! (just because the assistant boss power dynamic could get annoying at best and noxious at worst)
i'm imagining that you two, in the early stages of your courtship, would go to the cape or perhaps somewhere closer to home base—amagansett.
the picture's would be reminiscent of this nature: (disregard the iphone quality—imagine it to be the much more flattering nineties film quality)
you habitually steal johns shirts to wear around the house
it's so bad to the point where he genuinely believes someone might creeps into the apartment at night with the primary intention to burglarise specifically his graphic t-shirts and no other valuables.
here are some delightful examples of what i'm picturing (some are links to ebay listings, others are brick and mortar, and others are simply digital): left, middle, right
he encourages you to buy some of your own so you do (at bergdorf ) and they tend to have more of a feminine silhouette such as: this, this, and this.
but you mostly use them for public, more casual outings and still you use his t-shirts for you to slumber in and to traipse around the apartment,
which he feigns to be annoyed at but he really isn't...
in fact it might even strike a possessive strike in him that had prior been left dormant in previous relationship's of his
so random but that man would be amazing at imitating bird sounds!
i just feel that in my heart #my truth
which makes sense, at least to me, because John seems like the type to very much peacock around his girlfriend to get her attention! as he is ought to do.
authors note: anyways, i didn't know where to end this, so I'm ending it here. off to have some earl grey and vanilla ice cream! sendinggentlenessandbountsoflove,
as a cute side quest, i made some outfit formulas that i could picture assistant!reader wearing for different occasions! hopeyouenjoy!
□ rudimentary solo polo-bar date
□ for rainy days (literally for rainy city days)
□ a harry's cipriani rendezvous with john
□ winter washington meet with the family
□ fashion after-party
love, melancholicstation
tags: @rocker-chick-7 @ultr4v1ol3nt @violetharmonsfavgf @strip-weather-forecast @darcyspirits @fortheloveofjos @h-l-v-kennedy-blog @h-l-vlovesvintage @bluelancergirl @snowsgames @salvatoresablondie @dulcegal @kennedyism @bloxholden35 @kimcrystal123 @absurdlyvintage @jackiesgirl @remotewatch @stargiirl27 @strryhaze @bluevelvetsunset @recentremreports
#jfk jr x reader#jfk jr fanfiction#jfk jr fanfic#kennedy fanfiction#kennedy fanfic#rpf fanfiction#fanfic#rpf political#kennedy rpf#political rpf#jfk jr rpf#jfk jr.#jfk jr#american love story#ryan murphy#x reader#x you#jfk jr headcanons
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honestly i think one of the main reasons people always have such a warped idea of what sao is (apart from the dogshit anime adaptation) is just a lack of context
like people seem to often assume it's some kind of cheap generic cashgrab churned out because it makes money
which it just isn't
this thing started as a free webnovel in 2002 that was originally meant for a writing competition but reki couldn't shorten it enough to fit the length requirements, and after that he just kept going
by the time the thing actually got picked up for monetised publication reki had gotten all the way to alicization
this shit is a passion project that started significantly before the isekai boom and has honestly much less overlap with the tropes of that era than many people think (the overlap that is there is mostly because sao did it first)
tldr: reki is a nerd and sao started out as a free webnovel long before the omnipresence of isekai tropes. it has a soul and you will respect it
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Writing Patterns Game
Rules: share the first line of your last 10 published works or as many as you are able and see if there's any patterns.
Tagged by @dragonflylady77 awhile back! 💛
3DPC4EVA
A car never forgot the moment it came to—became aware.
¿Por qué no Halloween?
The line outside Club Quarry snaked around the block, an impatient technicolor parade of glitter and sequins, leather and feathers—and skin.
Only One Bed
Eddie got a job bartending at the Hideout a couple months before he finally graduated—third time’s the charm—in large part because the owner, Sam, was a close friend of the family.
A Little Death Do Us Part
Billy had been dead for four days when Steve finally made a breakthrough, muffled cracks as bones restitched and the crushed chest cavity filled, the rasp of rusted lungs expanding with breath.
Step Up
The divorce was finalized around Christmas, which is when Steve resolved to tell Robin.
Step 9
Steve didn’t know what he’d been expecting until the bells above the diner door let out a merry jingle—and there he was.
I'm Glad My Dad Died
Billy had a secret: he was glad his dad was dead.
Here I Go Again
Billy’d been warned against stopping in Stark County, but when you gotta go, you gotta go—and anyway, he was running low on gas.
Drummer Boy
Billy had always been a side sleeper, one hand wedged beneath his pillow—or tucked under his ear to hear the thrum of his pulse, steady and lulling on good nights, thudding fast on others, a dull roar that drowned out the shouts through the wall if he listened hard.
For My Baby, For My Man
Steve felt like a real asshole when Robin asked out of the blue one day, maybe a month after he and Billy became roommates, if the guy was paying part of his rent in labor.
no pressure tags (sorry if you already did this back when the game swept through originally): @imsodishy @ihni @shieldofiron @fizzigigsimmer @adelacreations
@suometar @spaceofentropy
#i'd never paid much attention to first lines before!#interesting exercise#and i expected way more uber long sentences because it seems like all my sentences endlessly ramble#but not so much!#as for patterns#i mostly just... start with some context?#not super prone to a dramatic openers apparently#who knew!!#harringrove#mungrove#caligator
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This family dinner is gonna fucking suck
#'ox-eyed' is a term I stole from Homer (along with 'dog faced')#In this cultural context the term is used to compliment brown eyes. Not just applied to brown eyes in general but to describe#someone's as uniquely pretty (usually with the implication of a soft or calm gaze). Applied more frequently to women than men.#I've gone over Ganmachen before but that one refers to the ox birth sign and is a mostly complimentary epithet for people who#have the associated traits. It literally means 'ox faced' but the mache/machen word for face doesn't refer to the anatomical face#rather some perceived essential/fundamental aspect of one's nature being their 'face'#There's a ton of other '-faced' epithets both in regards to birth signs and not#and adding the -machen suffix to a description of a person emphasizes the quality being described#Like calling someone 'brave-faced' would be a bigger compliment than just 'brave'- describes this bravery as fundamental to their being#(I don't write this kind out in-text though because the concept of 'faced as descriptive emphasis' doesn't work in english)#(I'd just say like 'very brave' or etc)#'braileig' is the term for a horse foal in the western Highlands dialect. This started as Brakul insulting Janeys with the descriptor#'little lost foal in a blizzard' (which more biting than it sounds- describes someone as pitifully helpless). Janeys was paying#more attention than he thought and had picked up enough to recognize that he was being called a horse baby. Brakul eventually#started using just 'braileig' as a nickname
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Pokemon GSC/HGSS: The Dragon Clan
No one except the Dragon Clan knows exactly where they came from. Unlike most of historical Johto, the Clan prioritises keeping extensive records regarding their history, including the everyday proceedings of the Clan and the surrounding area. However, these records are highly protected, so no besides record-keepers, the Elder, and individuals with permission from the former are allowed to access them.
Long ago, their community was used as a rest stop for travelers flying between Johto and Sinnoh (no inter-region land routes existed back then). However, the outsiders that wanted to stay were not allowed to take up residence within the clan, so they had to build their own town nearby—this would eventually become Blackthorn. In modern times, commingling between the Dragon Clan and the outside world is much more common, but non-clan members (anyone who hasn’t been born to an existing clan member) still cannot live in the community. Most mixed families will choose to live in Blackthorn or the immediate surrounding area as a result, even though there has recently been pushback against what some believe to be an outdated tradition.
On a similar note, while visitors are welcomed in the community, no non-clan members are allowed to access the Den itself without a special token---a Silver Wing carved out of a Dragon Fang---given out by the Elder or a trusted representative. This is because it houses the dragon egg/hatchling incubation areas, historical records and cultural/religious texts, and the Clan Elder’s living quarters. More importantly, it’s a sacred space dedicated to Lugia, who the clan believes to be the ultimate dragon pokemon.
Roughly a century and a half before GSC/HGSS, the Dragon Clan was forced to integrate into Johto after going through some hardship. It’s legally considered part of Blackthorn and therefore has to follow Blackthorn laws, but otherwise considers itself independent and self-governing.
Additionally, the community is fairly self-sufficient, growing most of its own food and having a generally closed economy that operates mostly through bartering. However, money is still exchanged between the Clan and Blackthorn. Clan members usually buy necessities while Blackthorn residents and tourists often visit to purchase artisanal products, especially jewelry. Dragon Clan jewelry is considered some of the most valuable onm the Sinnoh/Kanto/Johto continent, partly because the Clan is the only group of people who is legally allowed to harvest materials from dragon-type pokemon, and partly because the Clan’s jewelers are some of the best at their craft. The jewelry is even said to exude different properties based on the material used—Dragonair pearls, for example, are said to impart both elegance and power upon the wearer. Silk also used to be popular, though it's now an endangered tradition since the Spinarak populations used for production have largely migrated towards warmer climates.
The community itself is built around the entry lake to the Den, located a couple miles north of Blackthorn. The residential area is built closest to the lake, with businesses and shops found more towards the south of the community. The very outskirts are dedicated to dragon rearing, mostly consisting of pastures and shelters reserved for the pokemon as well as sheds to store necessary resources. The rice fields, which produce the community's main source of food, lay further up the steep slopes of the mountain. More housing is scattered between the community and Blackthorn, where most of the mixed families reside.
Both Blackthorn and the Clan community feature gassho-style architecture. However, while Blackthorn has mostly modernized to resemble Johtonian interiors with features such as sturdier interior walls and full wooden doors, the Clan’s homes are still structured like traditional minka.
The Dragon Clan hierarchy basically works on a system of prestige. The more you contribute to the clan, the more prevalent you are in the community. This doesn’t mean much in terms of actual power, as the only real position of authority is the Dragon Clan Elder, but it does mean you get all the nice benefits that come from being well-respected such. (this might sound weird but the best way I can think to explain it is that it's like raising the most money for your PTA bake sale and getting voted for PTA president in the next election. maybe the school admin gets the last say on what happens in the district, but you still have a ton of sway and people who will listen to you regarding district matters)
Although candidates for the next Clan Elder are traditionally kept within the family, there’s no official rules for the selection process—no birth rights or anything like that—meaning that impressing the current elder is very important if someone is aiming to claim the position next.
Once an elder is chosen, they belong to the entire clan, quite literally. They move away from their family unit to their own special housing from where they are expected to lead the clan with a just, impartial hand. In return, the clan takes care of them—their home is kept tidy and comfortable, their food is prepared and served everyday in a timely manner, and their every possible need is handled by the members of the clan.
Unless the elder assigns a specific task, chores (mostly revolving around clan upkeep and community service) are decided upon collectively by the clan. Everyone except for the youngest of the young and oldest of the old are expected to contribute, as the more hands there are available to help, the more the burden can be shared. Assignments are not permanent, and clan members may reassign work or trabe jobs with each other for the betterment of the community.
Aforementioned public sway comes in handy here, as more esteemed individuals typically delegate themselves the most prestigious jobs (aka whatever gets them closest to the Elder and/or takes the least effort while still making them look good) while everyone else divides the less desirable jobs among themselves. There’s technically nothing stopping anyone from protesting such a system, but making too much of a fuss might mark you as a troublemaker in the community’s eyes.
Unless owned by a specific person or family, most of the dragons of the Dragon Clan are considered wards of the entire community, some more wild and some more domesticated. Whether personally owned or not, all dragons live out in the pastures and/or the lake, free to roam the town as they please (pokeball use is very rare within the clan).
Almost all members of the clan will help take care of the dragons at least once in their lives, usually as children and always under the guidance of the pokemon's official caretakers, called dragon tamers. Although major injuries are somewhat rare among tamers, the possibility always exists, so children and tamers-in-training are always supposed to be watched over very, very closely.
Aragoto is a sacral art, saved for important cultural ceremonies. They most often occur as religious rites, but they may also be performed at festivals as well. Productions always tell the story of a historical event; though contemporary historians may argue that these plays are more akin to fable than real-life events, the Clan views it as completely accurate to their heritage. To be chosen as an actor is an honor of the highest regard, and to make a blunder while performing is the highest disgrace (well that's a little exagerated but still). Therefore, actors will often dedicate most if not all of their free time to perfecting their roles before an upcoming performance.
Kumadori, though an important part of aragoto, is not restricted to the practice. It’s most like a culturally significant face paint, applied at home before attending festivals, ceremonies, and celebrations alike. Most clan members will have their own personalized kumadori, though to choose any decorative colors other than red and black is extremely rare due to the associated meanings.
Although full kumadori is not normally worn in day-to-day fashion, many clan members like to reference it in their own makeup and consider it to be a source of personal pride. The most famous examples include Lance and Clair of the Indigo League, who wear partial kumadori as part of their League uniforms. Additionally, Clair is one of very few clan members in the entire clan's history to purposefully wear blue kumadori outside of aragoto.
The Blackthorn Gym has traditionally been run by the Dragon Clan. Although there are select people who may find this unfair, its historically been one of Johto's most successful gyms, and there's no rules against nominating another clan member as the next gym leader as long as they are approved by the Pokemon League.
Drinking is heavily frowned upon within the clan, so ingrained in their culture that most clan members who move away will continue to abstain long after they leave. Of course, the reason why is obvious: they've willingly surrounded themselves with some of the most notoriously dangerous and unpredictable pokemon, and to accidentally slight one of these beasts could very well end with catastrophic consequences. Most clan members will end up with the occasional knick and scar, sure, and the dragon tamers will often wear their injuries as badges of honor, but no one wants to end up as the next cautionary tale. Unfortunately, accidents still happen with every new generation, even within the Elder's own family…
#‼️personal canon zone‼️#pokemon#pokemon hgss#pokemon headcanons#worldbuilding#these guys are only briefly mentioned but i may as well->#champion lance#gym leader clair#quick note that didn't really fit in the post itself:#i really like the idea of lugia and the dragon's den being linked in some way#mostly because you can only find whirlpools in johto in the den and around the whirl islands#not to mention the clan elder mentions lugia in both heartgold and soulsilver#even bulbapedia says “lugia was also glimpsed by an elderly man... who stated it looked like a dragon in the sky”#it may not have a dragon-typing but lance himself said not every dragon pokemon is a dragon-type soooooo#anyways!#as always i'll update this post if i get more ideas but for now it's like 4:00 am and i just really want this out of my drafts#feel free to as questions too ofc ofc#this is actually the context to the context to a post i started months ago that was inspired by a mutual#i'm sorry beloved moot i swear i didn't forget my response to your tags i'm just really really slow :') <3
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something something photography being the art of memory and recording and basil being the photographer something something the way hes always the witness and never the subject and maybe he doesnt think he deserves to be the subject something something taking a photograph being the act of freezing a moment in time forever and basil (and sunny by extension) never being able to grow up and move on from what they witnessed the day mari died
#idk i have a lot of thoughts abt the choice to have basil be a camera guy as a photographer myself#the fact that he only takes photos of his friends mostly and kinda stumbled upon it as a kid#but also the way it suits him so well as a character both personality wise and narratively#and idk if omocat put that much thought into the choice of making basil a photographer#but some of the photos in the photo album are really artistically used#esp during the part where its revealed what happened the day of maris death#and using the photos as a framing device for the events that took place#and just. how theyll never forget. just like in a photograph#also curious to see what healing would look like under this context#maybe basil starts taking pictures of his plants more#or just the ppl and things he loves and picking up the camera again after a long time#maybe he lets someone else behind the camera and lets himself be the subject of someone elses photo for once#just some thoughts#basil omori#sunny omori#omori#omori spoilers#text post
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#for context. a few weeks back i was playing on a fast respawn 2fort server#mostly because i just wanted to just. hang out somewhere without any real serious gameplay happening#that said. for the first few hours i was playing on there. was mostly playing gunslinger engineer and detonator pyro#and we had a good push up into their base but were stuck just at the entrance. with a heavy hold from the enemy team#but after a while. i just kinda got bored and wanted to just fuck about with the taunts and loadouts i had#first thing i did was play pyro and do the cheers taunt before getting on my bike and swerving a bunch as i drove#but i dont think anyone could tell thats what i was doing#so after a bit i just changed to scout. and started just riding my skateboard#(i also did the drinking and riding bit a few times but i eventually just ended up skateboarding around)#(one bit being me on the top of the bridge. doing the cheers taunt. getting on my board. and then skating off the bridge and killbinding)#so at some point. i kept getting stuck in place for some reason. like speficially on bumpy ground or... in the air#and the moment i got stuck in the air (for 30+ seconds mind you) i was just like ''my quantum board technique''#and from there. i just acted as if i was playing the newest Pro Skater game#saying stuff like ''i have to do manual ollie combo for 150000000 points''#or like ''i have to find grindrails on this level''#eventually found my way into the sewers and said something like ''IVE FOUND THE HALF PIPES''#before saying like ''man they really screwed up the physics since the last game''#a soldier on the other team was trying to find me the whole time saying ''wheres tony hawk''#specifically because he had a tony hawk avatar. and i only realized after he said something about it#anyway. after all that i skateboarded into a minisentry and died#and my last message was supposed to be ''my combo has ended'' but i ended up typing 'bombo'#and it made me laugh SO hard i couldnt backspace. and added on with ''my sweet bombo''#and then i left because i had nothing more to do there. my bombo had ended and i had to move on.
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I love working with children so MUCH
#i loveeee their questions i love figuring out how to say the things u say to adults in a child friendly way#like not dumbing it down! bc u shouldnt talk down to children like that!#but their lil brains work different and they dont have the context a lot of adults have#and its a fun game bc u have to adapt it to whatever group of kids u have that day#today was 9 year olds which are SO FUN#theyre really starting to figure things out! u can teach them complex things in slightly complex language#u just gotta make it accessible and interesting to them. and my presentations r a little bit presentational at the top#but then mostly conversational. and i love talking to children so muchhhh#theyre so earnest and genuine. if theyre interested u Know. if theyre not interested u Know. & then u get to play how to make it interesting#its like a game and im good at winning it#anyways. yay <3#give me a child and i will tell them soooooooo many interrsting animal facts#and then they will tell me the interesting animal facts they know!#and we all have fun!#OUGH and also the dance of how to correct someone while making them still feel good#no that bird wasnt a blue jay but it was a california scrub jay. how to convey this correctly#adults r so boringggg#that being said i did have a really good convo with some adults yesterday#but a lot of it was thru their 5 year old who was absolutely DELIGHTFUL#anyways. as always im rambling#bring me ur children let me hang out with them i prommy we'll all have fun and learn things
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Any ships you don’t like in the batfam fandom that is popular?
OOOH this is such a fun question because I have quite a few
StephCass - i'll be honest this is one of those ships where the fandom ruined it for me. because 2000s StephCass is an elite dynamic, they care for each other so deeply. but the fandom has been intent on defanging and purifying this ship. i don't know *why* but StephCass seems most popular with the anti-Batcest crowd who get very mad if you compare it to ships they deem Batcest. i have an entire meta commentary on this in my drafts I'll likely never post discussing why the only reason StephCass gets the pass for not being Batcest ties directly into misogyny (because the women of the Batfam need to exist as love interests first, not family members so Steph was never going to truly get to exist as a "full" Batfam member so long as she could remain a viable love interest for Tim, and the same can apply to Babs, Helena, and even Cass in some cases) and that just sours me to it. like if i want yuri in Batfam i think there are far more interesting/fucked up ships for Steph like Babs/Steph or Helena/Steph. and when it comes to what i'd actually like to see in canon, i don't want to see Steph relegated to love interest of a Batfamily member, even if it's queer. let her date and exist outside of Gotham the way every other Batfam member gets to, DC *please*.
Bruce/Selina - i can't fully articulate why this ship isn't my thing, it just isn't. i think i just can't conceivably agree with Selina letting go of so many of her fundamental morals and beliefs for the sake of a man, even one she loves such as Bruce. ironically, i think that's one of the few things Gotham War got right about these two. the only canon love interest i like for Bruce is Zatanna and i mourn we'll never get much of that.
JayRoy - i will admit when i was newer to DC the first comics i picked up for Jason were all New-52 and i shipped this. but now that i'm a pre-Flashpoint truther and i've actually read well-written Roy Harper comics, i only see the flaws in this ship. ngl if ppl were actually fun and interesting with it, playing with the idea of Roy knowing Jason as Robin and still seeing him as just Dick's little brother who's gone a little mental, it *could* be fun. but this Red Hood & the Outlaws (2011) and Red Hood/Arsenal (2015) dynamic *butchers* the fuck out of Roy and strips him of everything interesting. and even as a Batfamily stan, my number one pet peeve is when other DC characters get *butchered* in a Batfamily character's book just for the sake of propping up the Bat as some kind of savior. free Roy Harper from this mans.
Bruce/Oliver - we could be here all day if i listed all the Bruce ships i don't like, but i figure this one has to be included. because oh my god either the people shipping this *really* don't understand Oliver Queen or they just hate his ass because why would you subject Oliver to this man. he can't *stand* Bruce. i really hate the popular BruOliie shipping dynamic of like "oh they were boarding school besties" because if you want that, you *should* like Bruce/Zatanna, not these two. Oliver just always gets butchered in these fics and i won't stand for it.
Tim/Bernard - the ESSAYS i could write on this ship and why i dislike it. the fucking *fear* DC (and most popular media tbh) has with depicting queer relationships as anything other than totally perfect and cute for fear of accusations of homophobia has stripped this ship of *any* real grit. Bernard is a non-character in Tim Drake: Robin, he exists to cheer Tim on and prop him up and just be The Boyfriend. we occasionally get glimpses of an interesting character with really interesting trauma and nothing is *done* with it bc at the end of the day, Tim and Bernard must be perfect and cute. what's fun about Tim is he is the *worst* boyfriend alive. that boy is *ass* at dating. all of his relationships are rich with conflict and yet the moment he dates a guy suddenly all of his flaws vanish? i hate it. i mourn what this could've been if we kept messy Tim Drake and had a Bernard who was actually informed by his trauma. DC please let gays be messy again. also of all of Tim's 90s/00s friends to bring back as a love interest, Bernard Dowd was just a *bizarre* fucking choice. Sebastian Ives was *right* there come on now.
Any Crossover Ship - look if crossovers are your cup of tea i'm happy for you but oh my god if i have to see that little green ghost boy or that ladybug girl in the Batfam one more time i think i may explode. i have a lot of thoughts on *why* i think specifically Danny Phantom and Miraculous Ladybug get crossed over as often as they do with the Batfam, but i don't think anyone wants to year that. my only exception to this is Jason/Bucky Barnes, but it *has* to be comics!Bucky. like. Judd Winick's Jason and Ed Brubaker's Bucky would hatefuck and that i wish to see it. any other crossover ship (especially the Peter Parker ones that seem to be rising in popularity) just do *not* do it for me.
honestly besides that i don't think i dislike many ships. (aside from being super opinionated on Bruce ships, but that's mostly bc ppl will use him to butcher the character they ship him with) there are some ships i'm neutral to because i simply do not know enough to have an opinion (like Dick/Wally). i guess the only Batcest ship i'm not particular to is Bruce/Damian, but I wouldn't say that one is popular nor would i say i dislike it, just that it's not my cup of tea. most Batcest ships click for me in one way or another because i like their Weird dnyamics. i guess i could also say i dislike most ships that have come out of Young Justice (tv) because. oh my *god* why were those group of characters put together on a team. it's baffling. but even then it's not disliking those ships, it's moreso disliking that show's depiction of those characters so. everything is really dependant on the canon context for me!
#necrotic answerings#batcest#sorry sorry to the shippers who are going to have this post caught in their filters#i am specifically not tagging the ships for that reason but sometimes tumblr will put it in the tagged content anyway#so sorry about that one#anyway i'm so serious i have Big feelings about the steph and cass thing.#i will probably never post it because oh the fights it'll start. but i've got feelings.#also my jason and roy feelings are pretty recent won't lie#like i used to be neutral on it. even have it in recent (within past few years recent at least) fanfic i've written#but the straw that broke the camels back was -as usual- wayne family adventures.#a recent episode had roy waxing poetic about how jason “saved” and “believed” in the outlaws as their leader#and i was like nope. i'm done. i can't. unsubscribing from this ship. goodbye.#red hood/arsenal is a guilty pleasure comic i won't lie to you (mostly for the duela dent content)#but i can't do it anymore. i can't witness roy being fucking BUTCHERED like that. i am done i've left the building.#writing this i found i actually don't dislike as many ships as i thought i did. bc i love to be a hater#but rlly most batfam ships i'm agreeable to#it needs the correct context and characterization but I'll be down for the cause if i think it could be fun#only the ones i mentioned are the ones i rlly dislike enough to be grumpy about#also bruce and constantine. i also dislike and am grumpy about.#but i do think that *could* work. y'all just need to read a hellblazer comic#bc you guys (the general you) do not understand constantine stop making him silly magic mcguffin guy. free him.#tumblr ate some of my tags on my last post so I'll stop rambling for fear of being silenced by tumblr gods again.
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*long-suffering, slightly fearful sigh*
alright. it's time.
the scoundrel is finally getting that impossible theorem.
#we've come full circle#it starts with discordance and immaterial materials and it'll... well it won't END with that#but the fact that we've reached back around to this point at all is amusing#yin-thoughts#fallen london#the scoundrel's thoughts on discordance... i wouldnt say their opinion has exactly improved?#they're mostly just. closed off to it. which is a marginal improvement from the pure hatred and petty spite they had previously#they're going through the motions. they're actually following along with what everyone else is (not) telling them for once#but it's still bitter and fueled by spiteful fear#they're still confident they can just. figure it out. ''solve'' it. they've relaxed but it's like#a 0.2% relaxation#as opposed to the 0% they had before#which. is some kind of progress!#fallen london spoilers#discordance spoilers#completely out of context but eh. just to cover all bases.
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is it that time already? sunday six ✨
tagging @passthroughtime @four-white-trees @phantasy14 @skysquid22 @overdevelopedglasses
after spending a bunch of time away from senseific, i'm feeling refreshed and ready to start chipping away at it again. here's something old i've touched up and made a little more presentable
“I shouldn’t have let you.”
“Not into it?”
“You weren’t sober.”
“That’s all? I was sober enough.”
“You wouldn’t have done it if you hadn’t been drinking.”
“Maybe not.” Kitakata conceded. “But I’m sober and I’d still kiss you now, so what’s the difference?”
Yagami froze.
#sunday six#i wrote the initial draft for this exchange months ago and i just couldn't get it right#but the idea was kitakata casually admitting he'd want to kiss yagami even right now. just couldn't get the words right#but! i think this is pretty much what i want!#feels good to finally work it out#not sure it's clear out of context but. kitakata is supposed to be dismissive of yagami's worries here. which is shitty of him#so one step forward two steps back yknow lmao#also prepared some placeholder chapter titles for the early parts. mostly to start to organise my document into something more digestible#i want to poke more at kitakata+sawa+itokura after the last thing i wrote about them but. sigh. trying to write them consistently#anyhow if anybody has been missing senseific updates. here it is! an update!
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I was reminded of the time that tumblr tried to make "monster high but with tumblr sexymen", and one of the characters was (obviously) the daughter of the once-ler.
And the funny thing to me about that is that in the canon of the illumination lorax movie, the once-ler is heavily implied to have an estranged daughter. I don't know all the sexymen off the top of my head but I think he might've been one of the only ones referenced in that trend who actually had a daughter in his own canon.
#Stupid shit#I'm gonna provide context in the tags for those who want it but I also like the idea of just leaving it there#Okay so for anyone who wasn't in the fandom: when people say the movie gave us no one to ship the Once-ler with they were LYING#The movie gave the Once-ler no MALE characters to ship him with - thus Oncest started#However - the second most popular Once-ler ship was between him and Norma#(Who - if you haven't seen the movie in a while - is Ted's grandmother who tells him about the Once-ler and how to find and barter with him#This was mostly just a ship born from theory and logical deduction - why does Norma know so much personal info about the Once-ler?#Were they perhaps friends? Lovers? In the past? Where was she in his life and at what points? When did she leave?#And people started making theories and shipping the two - primarily as past lovers. But there was art of them reconnecting for sure.#HOWEVER - this also meant that there was a theory that Ted's mom was also related to the Once-ler#As in - hmm this daughter of a very short fat woman is oddly tall and thin... hmmm#And so the running theory wasn't just that the Once-ler and Norma were once lovers - but that the Once-ler was also Ted's grandfather#Who was entirely estranged from the family due to self-exile and possibly bad blood between him and Norma at some point during his downfall#(I actually do think that it's funny that the Once-ler's youngest design purposefully draws some comparison between him & the Truffula tree#Only for the character theorized to be his daughter to also evoke some Truffula tree imagery in her design)#ANYWAYS that was a theory for about as long as the movie was out - Normaler (the ship) was a thing for as long (if not longer) than Oncest#And was present enough that there were like actively flame wars between the two groups of shippers#Like literally I directly remember this it's so insane to me that no one ever brings this up when talking about the shipping in this fandom#BUT THEN!!!! The Lorax comes out on DVD. The fandom rejoices and everyone takes pictures of themselves buying or holding the DVD.#If you dig far enough and I haven't deleted it yet you might find mine. I was in full cosplay wig and all.#Anyways - we have the movie in HD now!! No more cam rip footage!!!#And now we can take high-quality screenshots that truly show off the detail of the backgrounds in this movie#(The fandom loved to gush about how detailed and well-designed the movie's backgrounds were - that wasn't just a throwaway transition)#Only - what's this?????#In one of the shots at the end of the movie - we very briefly get to see the inside of the Once-ler's lurkim - like the living room#AND THERE - IN THE BACKGROUND - ONLY VISIBLE IN HD#IS A PHOTOGRAPH OF A WOMAN WHO SUSPICIOUSLY HAS THE EXACT SAME SILHOUETTE AS NORMA#Normaler fans rejoice and 'Grandpa Once-ler' theory is accepted into canon (or - more accurately - 'implied canon') by most fans#So yes - for those keeping track - while the evidence wasn't as concrete as it could have been#The Once-ler is implied to have been the father of Ted's mom in the movie
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I don’t know when I became the kind of person who watches/reads/listens to horror media for comfort, but I guess that’s who I am now
#for context I am incredibly squeamish and close my eyes at some point during most horror movies#and CANNOT stomach movies like Saw or Terrifier or anything like that#I had to stop listening to the Magnus archives years ago cause I kept getting nightmares#I think it was taking an American Horror lit class that started this#I love horror I’m just easily scared#idk the only way I can be fully (or at least mostly) distracted from my irl agonies is to listen to fictional ones
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2024 reads / storygraph
The Saint of Bright Doors
a surreal Sri Lankan fantasy about colonialism, revolution, mixing fantasy with the modern world
follows a man raised by his mother to kill his father, a god-like cult leader
but as an adult he puts aside his life of violence and moves to the city for a quiet life
he becomes fascinated with ‘bright doors’ around the city that never open and have no other side, and joins a group studying them to find out more
and a support group for those with divine heritage that becomes increasingly revolutionary, until the task he was made for reemerges and his life upends
#the Saint of Bright Doors#aroaessidhe 2024 reads#this is kind of hard to explain I dont know if I did a very good job here lol#it is weird and full of so many interesting elements. I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about it but?? I really liked it mostly???#It starts pretty small scale focused on the MC & slowly unravels the wider worldbuilding and narrative elements in a really interesting way#The first chapter or two I assumed it was typical high fantasy but then it’s like. oh this is a modern city. with emails and stuff.#The pacing is a bit weird - it’s quite meandering and also pivots significantly in the second half. tbh I’m still ????? about the ending lm#but also I am happy to float through on vibes.#and there’s some elements (like the doors that become….not that relevant) that I want to know more about. (as an aside - I saw someone say#that it’s a very clear retelling about Buddha’s son? which idk enough about but probably could give a deeper context to a lot of it)#writing style is kinda detached from the MC but also there is a reason for this that makes sense with the twist near the end!#which is a kind of twist i LOVE. Maybe I wish it had been emphasised a bit more over the story though? unsure.#I thought his mother's story was interesting also - you think she's an terrible parent just there for background context at the start but#then when she tells her story it's like ohh there's more context here.#also I hesitate to just say ‘if you like the spear cuts-- you should read this’ because I think the elements that are similar are done in a#kinda different way and might disappoint you if you’re expecting it to be the same as spear….but regardless the sort of dreamy writing#rich world; narrative with fantasy but also modern day elements; some of the writing style; mlm MC (tho not a romance)#idk. it will definitely not work for everyone but I enjoyed it overall#also it is full of queerness#bisexual books
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just reached my favourite point of translation where the subtext is so deep i have no idea how the FUCK to even start with getting the intended joke across/s
#gu6chan's musings#basically it's a rubbing salt in the wound situation where MC is ANGUISHED and seere keeps saying things that make it worse but#he says something among the lines of 'No matter how much your struggle is met with despair; keep going till the end!' (paraphrased)#and after doing some digging i found that the JOKE is the original phrase 'どうあがいても絶望でも、最後まで抗おう' came from SIREN (the ps2 horror game)#and basically became sorta synonymous with games with all/mostly bad endings#(Notably DOD and ESPECIALLY the E ending is used a LOT with this phrase; fitting into Onaplus... being DOD lmao)#so the joke in this case is that the phrase commonly linked in 'all routes lead to doom' scenarios is NOT something you wanna hear when#you're feeling down about yourself lmao. essentially; seere is saying she's fucked lmao#BUT HOW DO I EVEN START TO GIVE CONTEXT TO ALL THAT??????????#ive had hard lines to tl before but im really just kinda sitting here baffled bc like what do i do....#ALSO ANON WHO SENT ME THAT ASK I DUNNO IF YOULL SEE THIS BUT I LOVE YOUUUU#i REALLY wanna finish the ask i already have (in regards to my little boy!!) otherwise i fear i may lose all standards if i dont 😭 but!!!#rest assured I WILL get it!!! eventually...... ougaahhhh.... ITS SO GOOD THOUGH I WAS SO FUCKING ! !!B! JEWGFHSAKGF!!! WHEN I SAW IT AAAAA#YOU MADE MY WHOLE DAY I STILL HAVENT STOPPED THINKIN ABOUT IT OUGHHHH...
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